don't make me cry by myself
by korrasarmyy
Summary: "We never see other people anyway, only the monsters we make of them." — Autumn Tyzula Week.
1. Chapter 1

**_AN:_** _This is my Tyzula Week entry and it will be two chapters with four prompts in each. They're going to be flashfictions like I did last year._

* * *

 _don't make me cry by myself  
i can't hurt anymore  
don't make me fall on my knees  
when i'm begging you for more  
"_ _Nothin' but Trouble" — Lily Lane_

* * *

 **part one**

* * *

 _001\. trouble_

Ty Lee knows that Azula will never change.

She is not _that_ stupid, and even if she were, she has known Azula long enough to see through any promises of being a _changed_ person. Yet, she sometimes does feel like an idiot for trying and trying. It is a night like this, when she is crying by herself in the bedroom she shares with the woman she loves, the woman she wants to one day marry, and knows that she got herself into this mess.

Zuko knocks on the door and Ty Lee mumbles, "You can come in."

The Fire Lord accepts the invitation and sits down across from Ty Lee. She thinks for a few moments about what a mess she must be.

"I should know better by now." Ty Lee wipes her tears with the side of her hand and dries the dampness on the cloth of her clothes. "She's trouble. She's if trouble was a person who was embodying trouble and strife and misery."

"You can go home, you know," Zuko says. "Before she comes back."

Ty Lee takes a slow, rattling deep breath. Zuko waits for an answer, wishing that Ty Lee would make the right choice.

"I love her, and I would really be nothing if we aren't in love. I dedicated my life to her, Zuko, and if that got me into this…" Ty Lee averts her eyes.

Zuko does not pressure her further.

 _002\. wild_

They kiss so passionately that an internal fire consumes Ty Lee's body. Their lips crushing against each other wildly, too messily for the princess, which makes Ty Lee think that perhaps this could work out. She stops being able to think about that when Azula presses her up against the wall and pins her wrists to it.

Ty Lee smiles into the next frantic kiss.

 _003\. kittens_

Mai and Zuko have a baby; Azula and Ty Lee adopt a kitten.

It struts around and meows and cuddles up against its humans while Izumi wails and cries all night.

"We made the right decision," Azula says, making Ty Lee laugh.

Their kitten settles on Azula's lap and she knows that this is _way_ better than a baby.

 _004\. mountains_

"I can't make it to the top of every fucking mountain," Azula hisses, lowering her hands—she was tearing at her hair—and digging her nails into her knees. It is not a better change.

Ty Lee stands there, very calmly, and lets Azula go off on her, because she's good at this, and that's how she got Azula to be a semi-fuctional member of society.

"You climb most of them, and no one expects you to be perfect," Ty Lee says softly, as if speaking to a tiger-monkey at the circus.

"I expect _myself_ to be perfect and I believe that my expectations outweigh those of others," Azula snarls. "Get out."

Ty Lee feels her legs twitch. That tone has an affect, but she sits down, solidifying her palce in the room. She stays at enough of a distance that it will not make Azula uncomfortable for whatever reasons she does not want to divulge.

"I'm not going to make you feel this by yourself," Ty Lee whispers.

She means it.


	2. Chapter 2

**part two**

* * *

 _005\. wishes_

Ty Lee stands on top of the stone wall above the rushing river. The stars are bright tonight and the moon even brighter and her aura even brighter than that. She gazes at the sky and Caldera, remembering what _home_ truly means.

She nearly falls off the ledge—and screams loudly—when someone grabs her arm. Ty Lee knows the nails that dig into her arms. They belong to the girl pulling her in a circle and then back to Earth.

Ty Lee cannot see the luminescence of the moon, stars, city or any aura when she sees those golden eyes.

"You scared me to death, princess," Ty Lee says. "I thought you were a kidnapper or something."

"Who," Azula says slowly, a smirk sneaking onto her face, "would _ever_ want to kidnap _you_."

"I wish _you_ would." Ty Lee feels dreamy just thinking about that.

Azula cocks an eyebrow.

"I would…?" she asks.

"Kidnap me, please, princess," Ty Lee pleads.

"If you ask me to do it, it isn't really a kidnapping."

"Then pretend to kidnap me."

"Are we _ten_?"

"Sure." Ty Lee wraps her arms around the princess.

Azula halfheartedly pats her on the back.

It is good enough to make Ty Lee stay.

 _006\. unplanned_

For someone who obsessively micromanages and plans her life years in advance, Azula and Ty Lee's trysts are always very impromptu. They act as if the thought never crossed their mind until just this moment, when they have pounced on each other as soon as they are alone.

Azula has Ty Lee pinned down and it is amazingly sexy.

She has Ty Lee right where she wants her to be.

 _007\. candles_

"It's a peasant hobby for peasants," Azula says, knowing that Ty Lee will never stop asking. Even if she has to turn her down a thousand times, she is absolutely not going to learn how to make candles.

"Will you watch me then?" Ty Lee says, gently smiling.

"I suppose," Azula says.

Ty Lee makes candles, builds them from puddles and Azula notices halfway through that the candles will just turn back into puddles, blackened by ashes, melted by the stress of fire.

It is irrationally disconcerting.

 _008\. nothin' but trouble_

"I can't…" Ty Lee hiccups and Azula's heart flutters. "I can't hurt anymore."

"I have no desire to hurt you," Azula says.

"I believe you when you say that," Ty Lee replies, "but you-you-you _do_. You do is the thing."

Azula has a thousand reactions but her expression remains blank and her posture unreadable. She inhales slowly and Ty Lee watches the rise and fall of her chest. The sound of her breath is hypnotic.

"Then you can leave. I have no power to stop you." Azula hates herself for saying that, but she does not have a choice. Ty Lee does not move a muscle. "That is what I thought. It doesn't matter what I do—or what you allege that I do—because you will just fall on your knees and beg for us to stay together. I… I _want_ to be with you, but if you were _able_ to leave, you would have done it a long time ago."

"I need you, I think. I really need you." Ty Lee looks at the floor for a few seconds. "Just don't ever, _please_ don't ever cheat on me _ever_ again because…"

Azula has never felt what she is feeling now. It gnaws at her and her chest tightens.

"I won't," Azula says.

Ty Lee cries still. She weeps for most of the night, but she does not cry alone.

Azula holds her.


End file.
